Sofa-bed.



PATENTED vAUG. 7, 1906. W. J. KELLY.

SOFA BED.

APPLICATION FILED mum. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

izwiziaif JIeZZ cm, wAsHmarbn, n. c.

No. 828,215. PATENTED AUG. 7, 1906.

W. J. KBLLY- SOFA BED.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 14. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UE TED we l-E13;

PATENT WILLIAM J. KELLY, or CLINTON, IOWA, assieivon To J. A. KEL Ya 'BRos, OF cLINron'iow'A, ALCORPORATION or rowAI SOFA BE a To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Olin ton, in the county of Clinton and State of Iowa ,have invented new and useful Improvements in Sofa-Beds,of which the following is a specification.

invention relates to what I shall for convenience term a sofa-bed, although itwill be evident as the nature-of the invention is better understood that the latter can be incorporated in other articles of furniture. The bed or article of furniture involves in its make-up a back, a body portion, a-seat, and ends 'Itis one of the objects of the invention to so "construct the parts that they =may be readily assembled by inexperienced-operators. In other words, the parts-may be made at a factory, shippedto a dealer,'and by him assembled in a ready easy manner.

Anotherobject of the invention is to-supportthe weight of the seat or, as it is sometimes termed, bed squarely and evenly uponabody portion, the latter in thepresent case being of box-like form to present a wardrobe for the reception of bedclothing andother articles.

The invention includes other objects and advantages which with the foregoing willbe set forth at length in the following description, while the novelty thereof will be included in the claims succeeding said description.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification I illustrate a simple form of embodiment of the invention, which to enable those skilled in the art to practice the same I will set forth in detail in said description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of part of a sofa-bed including myinvention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same with the intermediate part of the bed removed. Figs.'-3,4, and 5 are end elevations, upon a slightly-larger scale, of the seat and back and certain other cooperative parts and showing the different positions assumed by said seat and back when the article-is changed from a sofa to a bed, and vice versa. Fig. 6' is a detail plan view of a locking device.

' The sofa bed illustrated involves in its construction'a body'portion, asZ. The body Specification of Letters Patent.

Applicatin filed Jury 14,1905. Serial Natesnos.

Patented Aug. 7, 1906.

portion 2 is represented as consisting of a box, so that it ma contain articles of-bedding.--

In addition'to t e-body portibntlierei's-a seat, as 3, a baok,as"4,-and ends, 'as 5'.- The seat 3 is also known as a bed-3: "The seat 3an'd back 4 are hingedly connected together, sothat the back-may-be swung down from its normalposition; which is at approximately right angles to thexseat to a position in horizontal alinement with the seat to form a bed. I-have showntwolof:

thesehinges,=each being designated by 6 and being of the strap'formftheir leaves being! attachedsayby -'sorews to" the seat -.-and; back, respectively. -The seat and back are normally locked togethen In otherzw'ords, this is the relation when the sofa-bedisbeirig used as a sofa or aswhat is familiarly-known as a davenport, and "I will-hereinafter.de scribe the locking means." The seat 3-is adapted in use't o rest squarely and to. have itsweight, as well as-that.of the-back, distributed evenly upon the body portion- 2, and I connect the seat-with thebodyportion in such manner that" the result in question can be secured without interfering with the free swinging motion of the seat and back.

I have shown as carriedbythe body portion 2 levers, each 'designated -by-7; saidlevers being connected withthe respective hinges at their joints. In -otherw0rds; the pins 8, which connect thestraps ofthe two hinges 6, serve as the-pivots for the-upper ends of the two levers, said pins eXtendin through said upper ends and being 'heade upon the outer face of the "levers. strength I may employ braces, as 9, fastened, as by screws, to the opposite ends of the seat 3 and-perforated to receive the pins 8, the braces 9 being disposed between the levers and the hinges and taking some of the strain off the levers as they swing forward and backward as the seat is successively raised and lowered. l 4

The fulcrums for the levers are shown as consisting of studs, as -10, upon-brackets, as

For

levers 7 and braces 9, having been assembled the seat will be placed upon the body portion 2, following which the levers will be connected to the body portion .by means of the brackets 11. When this is done, the ends 5 will be bolted or otherwise fastened to the ends of the body portion 2 in such manner that longitudinal grooves in guide-plates, as 12, will be positioned to receive projections, as 13, upon the ends of the back 4. v The grooved guide-plates 12 are countersunk in the inner faces of the ends 5, and the projections on the back 4 vertically traversethe grooves therein as the said back is swung with the seat or independently thereof.

With the parts in their normal relations the seat 3 will rest upon the upper side of the body portion 2, the back 4 extending upward from the rear of the seat and at substantially right angles to the latter, the two being locked together. When in this normal relation, the levers will extend upwardly and rearwardly from their fulcrums, whereby when the back is swung down the two levers will be moved forward, the limit ofrtheir forward motion being completed when the back rests upon brackets, as 14, upon the innersides ofthe ends 5, which will indicate that the back has reached the limit of its rearward or downward movement or that it is in horizontal position. During the various movements of the back either independently of or with the seat the projections 13 thereon ride along the grooves in the plates 12. The locking means to which I have referred maintain the seat and back normally in rigid relation, but may be operated in such manner that the seat will be released from the back and can be swung down to a horizontal posi tion in line with the back, so that the back and seat present collectively a bed. The downward swing of the back 4 carries the same slightly bodily forward, and the same of course applies to the seat, so that when the two are put into horizontal alinement the seat or the forward side thereof will slightly overhang the front of the body portion 2, but will rest thereon. In other words, when the seat is in its two positions it rests upon the body portion and is not supported by the levers 7, which practically act as guides for se curing an accurate motion of the back and seat during their swing from one position to another, and vice versa. In the present case to securely lock the seat 3 and back 4 in their normal relation I provide two lockingmeans, oneat each end of the respective parts, and as the locking means are the same in construction and mode of operation a complete description of one and its action will answer for the other.

A locking member comprises two sections, a body or main section, as 15, and a supplemental section, as 16. The body-section is shown as pivoted near the lower end of the seat 3 while the opposite end thereof, as well as the supplemental section, cooperates with a keeper, as 17, which may advantageously consist of a staple or be of U shape, so that the two sections 15 and 16 can extend through the same to be guided thereby.

The two sections 15 and 16 of the locking device or latch may be made inexpensively and readily from strap metal, the supplemental section being capable of movement upon the body or main 'section, for which purpose the former may have longitudinal slots to receive guide-pins, as 18, upon the body-section. These guide-pins may consist of rivets. The two sections of the locking device or latch are held against accidental relative movement by a spring, as 19, therebetween. Each of the sections is notched or cut away, as at 20, and the notches are so formed as to produce upon the forward ends of the two sections abrupt shoulders, as 21 and 22, and

an inclined face 23 upon the rear wall of the forward notch of the supplemental section.

The notches at the rear ends of the two sec- I tions are of substantially similar shape, each having an inclined face 24 merging into an abrupt shoulder 25, which, like the other shoulders, extends approximately at right angles to the length of the two sections.

Normally, orwhen the sofa-bed is used as a sofa or davenport, the notches of the two sections 15 and 16 will be out of register. This will bring the abrupt shoulder 22 on the supplemental section 16 forward of the abrupt shoulder 21 on the main section, so that the locking device made up of the two sections is operative to hold the back against tilting motion relatively to the seat 3. desired to convert the article into a bed, the back 4 will be swung rearward and downward until it rests on the brackets 14, following which the seat 3 will be swung toward the back. As this is done the keeper 17 will by engaging the shoulder 22 move the supplemental section 16 relatively to and longitudinally of the body or main section 15, so as to carry the inclined face 23 forward and to or beyond the shoulder 21 and to also move the Should it be rear and similarly-shaped and normally registering notches 20 out of register. When this is done, the locking device is rendered ineffective, whereby the seat will be unlocked from the back and can then be dropped down upon the body portion 2 into line with the back. In other words, I provide a locking device for two parts of an article of furniture to normally maintain them in rigid relation, one of said members having a movement rela tively to the other to put the locking means into an inoperative relation, or, in other words, to unlock or release the two members. In the present instance these members are the seat and back of a sofa-bed. As the seat is dropped down the locking device, consisting of the sections 15 and 16, will ride along the keeper 17 until the shoulder 25 on the supplemental section is engaged by said keeper 17. This occurs when the seat is nearly in horizontal position. On the continued motion of the seat the keeper moves the supplemental section relatively to the main section, so as to put the rear notches 20 into register and the forward notches 20 out of register. The relative motion therefore of the two sections of the locking device on the dropping down of the seat is such as to restore said locking device to its original condition or to render it operative. When the back is lifted, the looking device can by its own weight or by gravity assume automatically its original relation with the keeper device in the space between the shoulders 21 and 22, which space really presents a locking recess or aperture for the keeper.

In addition to the article of furniture having two members one of which puts a locking device into an inoperative relation it has another member, which in the present case is the back, which restores said locking device to its normal or operative relation. In both cases the action is automatic and positive.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. An article of the class described having a seat and a back movably connected, locking means to normally maintain them in rigid relation, and consisting of two sections, one movable relatively to the other and adapted to be operated by one of the members of said article to put the locking means into an inoperative relation, and a spring beshaped to present an abrupt shoulder and the wall of the other being angular, said two notches being normally out of register, and a keeper upon the seat to enter the notches and to engage said abrupt shoulder to cause the movement of the main member with respect to the supplemental member, thereby to carry the said angular portion forward beyond the abrupt shoulder and permit the locking means to release the back.

3. An article of the class described consisting of a body portion, a back and seat hingedly connected together, each of the hinges having a pivot-pin, levers supported for swinging movement by the body portion and pivoted to the pins, and braces fastened to the seat and perforated to receive said pins.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I WILLIAM J. KELLY.

Witnesses E. LAwLEn,- W. BURKE. 

